Indiantown elects its first Village Council; first meeting set for March 21

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“It’s long overdue and now Indiantown definitely has a voice,” said newly elected Village of Indiantown Councilman Anthony Dowling before getting a hug from his first cousin, Leonard Parks, Tuesday, Mar. 13, 2018, after Indiantown residents voted to elect five of the 10 candidates, including Dowling, to serve as Indiantown’s first village council. Dowling celebrated his victory with supporters, family, and friends at his campaign office in 16205 Southwest Warfield Blvd. in Indiantown.(Photo11: JEREMIAH WILSON/TCPALM)Buy Photo

INDIANTOWN — In a historic moment for this western Martin County community, the first Village Council was elected Tuesday.

Anthony Dowling, Jackie Clarke, Janet Hernández, Guyton Stone and Susan Gibbs Thomas will sit on Indiantown's Village Council and help make decisions that could shape the future of this newly incorporated community, according to final, unofficial results from the Martin County Supervisor of Elections Office.

More than 860 people voted, an unusually high turnout compared to previous Martin County special elections and regular, non-presidential elections. The turnout nearly trumped the 900 votes cast Nov. 7, when Indiantown voted to incorporate.

Dowling, Clarke and Gibbs Thomas as the top three vote-getters, will serve until 2022, while Hernández and Stone will serve until 2020, under rules established in a charter approved by the Legislature.

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“It’s long overdue and now Indiantown definitely has a voice,” said newly elected Village of Indiantown Councilman Anthony Dowling before getting a hug from his first cousin, Leonard Parks, Tuesday, Mar. 13, 2018, after Indiantown residents voted to elect five of the 10 candidates, including Dowling, to serve as Indiantown’s first village council. Dowling celebrated his victory with supporters, family, and friends at his campaign office in 16205 Southwest Warfield Blvd. in Indiantown. JEREMIAH WILSON/TCPALM

Newly elected Village of Indiantown Councilman Anthony Dowling celebrates his election Tuesday, Mar. 13, 2018, after Indiantown residents voted to elect five of the 10 candidates, including Dowling, to serve as Indiantown’s first village council. Dowling celebrated his victory with supporters, family, and friends at his campaign office in 16205 Southwest Warfield Blvd. in Indiantown. JEREMIAH WILSON/TCPALM

Newly elected Village of Indiantown Councilwoman Jackie Clarke celebrates her election Tuesday, Mar. 13, 2018, after Indiantown residents voted to elect five of the 10 candidates, including Clarke, to serve as Indiantown’s first village council. Clarke celebrated her victory with supporters, friends, and family at La Mexicana restaurant in Indiantown. JEREMIAH WILSON/TCPALM

Newly elected Village of Indiantown Councilman Anthony Dowling celebrates his election Tuesday, Mar. 13, 2018, after Indiantown residents voted to elect five of the 10 candidates, including Dowling, to serve as Indiantown’s first village council. Dowling celebrated his victory with supporters, family, and friends at his campaign office in 16205 Southwest Warfield Blvd. in Indiantown. JEREMIAH WILSON/TCPALM

Newly elected Village of Indiantown Councilman Anthony Dowling celebrates his election Tuesday, Mar. 13, 2018, after Indiantown residents voted to elect five of the 10 candidates, including Dowling, to serve as Indiantown’s first village council. Dowling celebrated his victory with supporters, family, and friends at his campaign office in 16205 Southwest Warfield Blvd. in Indiantown. JEREMIAH WILSON/TCPALM

Newly elected Village of Indiantown Councilman Anthony Dowling celebrates his election Tuesday, Mar. 13, 2018, after Indiantown residents voted to elect five of the 10 candidates, including Dowling, to serve as Indiantown’s first village council. Dowling celebrated his victory with supporters, family, and friends at his campaign office in 16205 Southwest Warfield Blvd. in Indiantown. JEREMIAH WILSON/TCPALM

Newly elected Village of Indiantown Councilwoman Jackie Clarke celebrates her election Tuesday, Mar. 13, 2018, after Indiantown residents voted to elect five of the 10 candidates, including Clarke, to serve as Indiantown’s first village council. Clarke celebrated her victory with supporters, friends, and family at La Mexicana restaurant in Indiantown. JEREMIAH WILSON/TCPALM

Newly elected Village of Indiantown Councilman Anthony Dowling celebrates his election Tuesday, Mar. 13, 2018, after Indiantown residents voted to elect five of the 10 candidates, including Dowling, to serve as Indiantown’s first village council. Dowling celebrated his victory with supporters, family, and friends at his campaign office in 16205 Southwest Warfield Blvd. in Indiantown. JEREMIAH WILSON/TCPALM

Newly elected Village of Indiantown Councilwoman Jackie Clarke celebrates her election Tuesday, Mar. 13, 2018, after Indiantown residents voted to elect five of the 10 candidates, including Clarke, to serve as Indiantown’s first village council. Clarke celebrated her victory with supporters, friends, and family at La Mexicana restaurant in Indiantown. JEREMIAH WILSON/TCPALM

Newly elected Village of Indiantown Councilwoman Jackie Clarke celebrates her election Tuesday, Mar. 13, 2018, after Indiantown residents voted to elect five of the 10 candidates, including Clarke, to serve as Indiantown’s first village council. Clarke celebrated her victory with supporters, friends, and family at La Mexicana restaurant in Indiantown. JEREMIAH WILSON/TCPALM

Newly elected Village of Indiantown Councilman Anthony Dowling celebrates his election Tuesday, Mar. 13, 2018, after Indiantown residents voted to elect five of the 10 candidates, including Dowling, to serve as Indiantown’s first village council. Dowling celebrated his victory with supporters, family, and friends at his campaign office in 16205 Southwest Warfield Blvd. in Indiantown. JEREMIAH WILSON/TCPALM

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After this election, all terms will be four years, according to the charter.

The first Village Council meeting will be March 21.

Final, unofficial results for the 10 candidates, according to the Supervisor of Elections Office:

Anthony Dowling: 540 votes

Jackie Clarke: 507 votes

Susan Gibbs Thomas: 459 votes

Guyton "Ricky" Stone: 435 votes

Janet Hernández: 343 votes

Maria Rosado: 332 votes

Guy R. Parker: 300 votes

Craig Bauzenberger: 289 votes

Carlos Álvarez: 268 votes

Ardis W. Jackson: 110 votes

Clarke on Tuesday evening said she was happy and grateful.

"I'm overwhelmed and excited and just thankful for the opportunity to continue to serve the community in a council capacity," said Clarke, 53, a lifetime Indiantown resident and the CEO of Indiantown Community Outreach, a nonprofit that helps poor and disenfranchised populations in the community.

Dowling, 30, echoed Clarke's excitement.

"I'm ecstatic. Just the hugs and the support and the love I've received — I'm overwhelmed," said Dowling, founder of Dowlingco Industries, a consulting and real estate firm in Indiantown.

One of the most important — and likely challenging — tasks the council will tackle in its first year is drafting land-development regulations, which will help shape the growth and development of a tax base that in 2017 was valued at about $2 billion, according to Martin County property appraiser data.

Dowling, in an interview earlier this month, acknowledged how important this council's work could be to the future success of Indiantown.

"We have to have patience as councilmen and council ladies. We have to get educated. None of us has ever served in office," Dowling said. "We will set the groundwork for the years to come."

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Signs posted along Southwest Warfield Boulevard encourage Indiantown residents to vote for or against Indiantown to become an unincorporated village from Martin County. The referendum was put on the ballot Nov. 7 and by a 63 percent margin, residents approved incorporation.(Photo11: JEREMIAH WILSON/TCPALM)

Hernández, 26, said she hopes to use her time on the council to help improve life for young people in the village.

"To prosper, to grow, we need programs here for our youth so they won't land in dangerous behavior," said Hernández, a bookkeeper at Holy Cross Church in Indiantown. "I'm committed to improving the future for citizens and businesses."

Hernández graduated from Florida Atlantic University with a degree in business administration and is a lifelong Indiantown resident.

Stone, 32, is the owner of Guyton's Custom Designs Inc., a custom woodworking business, and a resident of Indiantown for 19 years. Stone said his priority will be protecting Indiantown's close-knit-community feel.

Gibbs Thomas, 57, is a fourth-generation Indiantown resident and an educator at Warfield Elementary School who initially opposed incorporation and now promises to keep the Village Council accountable and transparent.

Indiantown voters in November approved incorporation 576-337. Of Indiantown's 6,000 residents, about 2,300 are registered voters, according to the supervisor of elections.

Before Indiantown, the most recent Martin County community to incorporate was Ocean Breeze in 1960, according to the Florida League of Cities. Stuart incorporated in 1914, Jupiter Island in 1953 and Sewall's Point in 1957, according to the League of Cities.

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